Assigk



' (No Model.)

H. BLOOD.

LINK BOX FOR STEAM ENGINES. No. 278,766. Patented Ju nej5, 1883.

N. PETERS; PMlOl-Micgnphot. Washington D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT. QFFICE.

HIRAM BLOOD, OF EAST CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO Hllvlp SELFAND LORENZO H. DALE, OF SAME PLACE.

LINK-BOX F OR STEAM-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,766, dated June 5,1883. Application filed March 14,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HIRAM BLOOD, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at East Cambridge, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inLink-Boxes for Steam Fire-Engines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view of the linkbox of a steam fire engine having myimprovement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectionthrough the center of the same. I

The ordinary metallic link-box, which slides in the cross-head of asteam fire-engine and receives the wrist-pin of the, crank upon thecrank-shaft, is objectionable, for the reason that its bearing-surfacessoon become badly worn, owing to the great speed and irregular motion ofthe box and the unequal strain thereon. It is also heavy and expensive,and its great weight also tends to further increase the wear while thefrequent lubrication required results in a great consumption and wasteof oil. Lignumvitae has been employed as a substitute for metal in theconstruction of these boxes, as it is much lighter and will wear awayless rapidly than metal; but this material is also objectionable, as itsoon becomes split or checked and warped by the heat resulting fromfriction and the swelling produced by the action of the oil used inlubricating the bearings. Other varieties of hard wood which are muchless liable to split or warp could be used but these would not presentbearing-surfaces capable of resisting the wear to which they would besubjected, and have therefore been hitherto found unsuitable for thispurpose.

My invention has for its object to overcome all of these difficulties;and it consists in a linkbox for steam fire-engines having itsbearingsurfaces composed of rawhide, as hereinafter described, wherebythe wear is reduced .to a minimum and the heating of the bearings andundue consumption of oil entirely avoided.

In the said drawings, A represents a steam fire-'iengine link-box of theusual form, and adapted to be secured within the cross-head, to

slide therein in the ordinary. manner. This box A, which is made, asusual, in two halves, adapted to be secured together by bolts, iscomposed of hard wood of such description that it will not readilywarp,split, or check. Iprefer to use for this purpose birds-eye maple orbeech, which are light, strong, and closegrained; but other woodspossessing these characteristics may be used instead.

I) 0 represent the plane bearingsurfaces, which slide in contact withthe cross-head, and d represents the circular aperture or bearing,within which fits the wrist-pin of the crank on the crankshaft of theengine. These bearingsurfaces b c d are all composed of strips orpiecesof rawhide e, of suitable thickness, cut to the desired dimensiohs, andfirmly secured to the contiguous surfaces of the box A, to which theyare applied, by wooden pegs f, cement, copper nails, or in any othersuitable manner.

By thus providing a link-box with bearingsurfaces composed of rawhideits durability is so greatly increased that it will outlast a greatnumber of metallic or wooden boxes as heretofore constructed, andconsequently the great loss hitherto occasioned by the necessity offrequently replacing these boxes by new ones is avoided, while theanti-friction properties of rawhide, its cheapness, cleanliness, and itsnon-liabilityto eyolve heat from friction under excessive speed render alink-box constructed in accordance, with my invention of great value,and effect a'material saving in the cost of re-' pairs, while much lessoil is required for 111-, brication than formerly, resulting in afurther economy in the expense of running the engine. One of thegreatest advantages, however, incident to the use of my invention liesin the fact that it enables me to construct a link-box of hard wood of adescription not liable to split, check, or warp, and which it hashitherto been found impossible to employ for this purpose, on account ofits not being able to properly resist the wear upon itsbearing-surfaces, and consequently I am enabled to retain the same timereduce the wear to a minimum,

having practically demonstrated by actual use all the advantagesincident to the employment of a material much lighter than metal, and atthat the wear of the rawhide surfaces after a A link-box for steamfire-engines having its severe and long-continued test is hardlyapexterior and interior,bearing-surfaces co1npreeiable. posed ofrawhide, substantially as set forth.

I am aware that it is not new to provide Witness my hand this 10th dayof March, 5 journal-boxeswithrawhidebearing-pieees,and A. D. 1883.

I am also aware that it is not broadly new to apply rawhide to surfacesas cushioning mate- HIRAM BLOOD rial, and hence I confine myself to theprecise WVitnesses: invention set out in my claim. 1?. E. TESOHEMACHER,10 I claim W. J. CAMBRIDGE.

